Can My Elderly Loved One Bring a Pet into a Nursing Home?

 Posted on December 03, 2018 in Nursing Home Abuse

If you have a loved one who needs extra help with daily life tasks, you may find that moving him or her to a nursing home or assisted living facility gets them the round-the-clock care they need. Nursing homes are full of residents who have physical and cognitive disabilities. Many of these individuals may use a service animal to help them move about their daily lives safely. Even pets not officially trained as service animals can be a tremendous comfort to those struggling with illness or disability. If your loved one requires care from a nursing home, assisted living, or rehabilitation facility, will he or she be able to bring his or her pet into the long-term care facility? The answer is not always black and white.

Few Nursing Home Allow Animals to Cohabitate with Residents

There are roughly 500,000 service dogs currently at work assisting people in the United States. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gave service animals, most often dogs, access to nearly every location their handler may want to go. The law made service animals exempt from rules which disallow animals from places like schools, movie theatres, or retail stores. Service dogs can be used to help visually impaired people interpret the world around them, alert hearing-impaired people to noises like smoke detectors or alarm clocks, and aide individuals who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices. Some service animals can be trained to alert their handler to an oncoming seizure. Only a select number of long-term care facilities allow animals to live with their owners, but many allow animal visitation.

Bringing Pets to Visit Loved Ones in a Nursing Home May be Beneficial

Research from The Ohio State University in Columbus found that an impressive 99 percent of nursing homes surveyed allowed animal visitation. Healthy dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, and hamsters are permitted in many nursing home facilities across the country. Most experts agree that elderly and disabled individuals can reap tremendous emotional benefits from safely interacting with animals.

Contact a Cook County Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer If Your Loved One Has Suffered in a Nursing Home

Tragically, not every long-term care facility adequately cares for their residents. If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you may have the right to compensation. Contact the DuPage County nursing home injury attorneys at Schwartz Injury Law today. To schedule a free consultation with our office, call us at 312-535-4625.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pets-nursing-homes/pets-in-nursing-homes-bring-both-benefits-and-risks-idUSKBN1HJ2BS

https://www.britannica.com/story/how-service-animals-help-humans-live-fuller-lives